'Marriage' bill OK'd, goes to Arnold

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The California Legislature yesterday became the first legislative body in the country to approve same-sex "marriage," as homosexual rights advocates overcame two earlier defeats in the Assembly.

The 41-35 vote sends the bill to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had no comment on the bill when it cleared the Senate last week, in what was widely seen as a symbolic vote at the time because of lower house's earlier rejections.

His office did not immediately respond late last night to a call seeking comment.

Although Mr. Schwarzenegger generally favors homosexual rights and domestic partnerships, he said in a 2003 interview with radio talk-show host Sean Hannity: "I think ... marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman."

He also criticized the San Francisco mayor's issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples in February 2004, saying they "fail to meet legal standards." California voters approved a ballot referendum defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

The bill's supporters compared the legislation to such earlier campaigns as women's suffrage and the eradication of slavery.

"Do what we know is in our hearts," said the bill's sponsor, San Francisco Democrat Mark Leno, who is homosexual. "Make sure all California families will have the same protection under the law."

Mr. Leno's bill had failed in the Assembly by four votes in June, but he was confident he could get it through on a second try after the Senate approved a same-sex "marriage" bill last week.

Democratic Assemblyman Paul Koretz called the opposite-sex definition of marriage "the last frontier of bigotry and discrimination, and it's time we put an end to it."

Assemblyman Tom Umberg, a Democrat who abstained when another homosexual "marriage" bill fell four votes short in June, said he was concerned about what his three children would think of him if he didn't join those "who sought to take a leadership role in terms of tolerance, equality and fairness."